Bethanechol

Bethanechol is a muscarinic agonist. It is included in the therapy for underactive bladder with poor contraction of detrusor muscle. Since contraction of detrusor muscle in the bladder is controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system, Bethanechol can bind to muscarinic receptors to stimulate activation of the parasympathetic nervous system and restore contraction of detrusor muscle. A low dose of Bethanechol is often used in treatment as increasing the dose can cause side effects like nausea, diarrhea and headache.